Stand of Redemption (13 page)

Nicholas
rolled over, pinning her underneath him. His mouth covered hers, his tongue delving in. This time, it was her moan that filled the bedroom.

His hands widened her legs
just before his cock poised at her entrance.

“Damn it.”
Nicholas left her for a second before returning with a condom in his hand. He ripped it open then slid it on.

Ria began having doubts
, looking at his cock. His eyes caught hers, seeing the hesitation.

“We can always stop.”

“Can we.” It wasn’t a question. She had been fighting her feelings for him, but seeing him sitting on the side of her bed, he seemed vulnerable, and she was sure that was a new experience for him.

“Come to me
, Nicholas.” Ria held her arm out to him, for the first time in her life lowering her guards for a man.

“Ria
, I never expected to want you this much.” His mouth lowered to her breast, lifting the delicate tip to his mouth. His tongue laved the nipple with gentle strokes.

With him t
reating her body with care, Ria felt beautiful under his hands. Her mouth placed gentle kisses on his muscular shoulders as her hands glided to his back, feeling the rippling muscles.

He lay over her
, his weight making her feel protected. He was going slow, not taking her body, but giving her his.

His cock brushed against her opening
, entering her slightly with his head lying on her chest.

“Are you sure?”

For her answer, she lifted her hips, helping him to enter her. She sucked in a deep breath at the slight pain. Nicholas frowned, beginning to pull away.

“Don’t stop!” Her mouth went
to his ear. “I want you.”

He groaned
, thrusting himself inside her, and then licked the tear away from the corner of her eye.

“Give it a minute, and I’ll make it feel better.”

“I hope so. Right now, I’m not enjoying it so much.”

She felt his body shake with laughter
. Insulted, she hit at his shoulders.

He reached up
, taking her wrists in one of his hands. “Give me some of that Spanish fire you showed me earlier.” His mouth took a nipple as his hips slowly began to pump. She felt each ridge of his cock against her vaginal walls, stimulating her passion.

“Better?”
he whispered.

“Yes.” She adjusted her hips to take more of him and was rewarded with him moving more easily inside of her.

For a first time, Ria had to admit it wasn’t too bad. She had heard all the horror stories. Even Lacey had told her not to expect too much. Ria was enjoying the feeling of him inside her after the brief pain had faded away.

“I’ve never seen anyone concentrate on sex before
,” Nicholas murmured against her breast.

“I don’t want to make a mistake.”

“Baby, it’s not a test. Relax.” His hand went down to where they were joined. She felt him touch her intimately, rubbing her clit until she felt a rush of moisture.

“That’s it.” He began to move faster
.

Ria wrapped her thighs around his hips
, loving the feel of him, the way he moved.

His fingers began rubbing her harder and she felt a sudden need to move faster herself. She thrust her hips against his
, the erotic sounds they were making heightening all her senses. His masculinity and driving need overtook her femininity, making her give more to him than she had expected. She had thought to keep her emotions under control, but Nicholas’s body stormed her defenses, pulling responses that had her screaming as she reached her peak.

She unconsciously dug her nails into his back as she felt hi
m climax with her.

“Ay, que rico.”

“What does that mean?” Nicholas moved to her side. “You weren’t just insulting my lovemaking, were you?” A small smile played on his lip as his thumb brushed over her nipple.

Ria laughed. “No, I said that felt good.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” His gloating look disappeared as he stared down at her flushed body. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a virgin?”

Her eyes dropped to his bare chest.
“My brothers were very protective of me, until I left for college then…I don’t know. It’s not important, is it? I didn’t want to make a thing of it like I was losing my V-card. I wasn’t keeping it for marriage or anything. I almost had sex once before my first semester in college when I saw a boy named Luke a few times. We were on my bed making out, and I realized I was getting ready to have sex, not because I wanted to, but because everyone else was, so I got dressed and left.” She shrugged.

“Ria
, can I tell you something without you getting upset?”

“Of course.” She smiled up at him.

“It’s not polite to talk about making out with other men when you’re lying next to one.”

She burst into laughter. “
All right, I’ll save my secrets for when we’re sitting on the couch.”

“If it involves other men, keep them to yourself
,” he grumped, getting out of bed and going into the bathroom.

Nicholas
was very much a self-centered man. He would be a jealous lover over a woman he loved. Ria lost her smile, frowning, feeling the ache in her heart at the thought of him loving a woman.

Nicholas
came out of the bathroom, lying back down next to her. “I have to go out of town for a couple of days for a commercial shoot.”

“What’s
the commercial?”

“Hooter’s and a small company for athletic wear. I got offered one for a
n energy drink, but I turned it down. I won’t promote products I don’t believe in.”

“Then why are you promoting Hooter’s?” She
was unable to keep the jealous twinge out of her voice.

He laughed.
“Have you ever tried their wings?”

“Oh
, God. That old line?” Ria groaned. Her head fell back onto the pillow, and then she made a face at him. “Are you going to have some wings while you are gone?” She was angry at herself for asking as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She had told him no pressure, and as soon as they had finished having sex, she was already questioning him.

“I’m not craving hot wings right now. I’m more in the mood for tamales. One hot
, little tamale in particular.” He lifted her until she was lying on top of him.

She rose up until she was sitting on his stomach, stretch
ing as she felt his eyes go to her swaying breasts.

“I’ve never had feelings for any other woman in my life.
I expected it to be the same with you, but it’s not. There’s something here that I don’t understand, but I don’t want to screw it up.” His expression was serious as he stared up at her.

Ria gazed down at him.
She had been trying to fight her feelings for him because she’d known it was just a matter of time before Nicholas walked away. He was the type that would never be satisfied with one woman and a family of children.

She wondered at the plastic façade he presented to the world
. Sometimes, like now, he dropped it and she saw the real Nicholas. That was the Nicholas she was beginning to care about.

“Every time I’m near you or I hear your voice, I can’t resist.
You’re right, there’s a powerful attraction between us,” Ria agreed with him. She knew deep down they would probably crash and burn at some point, but right now, while they had this time together, she wanted to make the most of it.

“I think we both can keep our heads on straight
,” Ria said as she stared into his beautiful, tortured eyes. She was giving him an out when he wanted to take it. She didn’t want to hold him to her when the mess in her life was over.

She reached to caress his face
, and he held her hand as he leaned in to kiss her.

“Cogerme.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let me show you.”

Chapter 17

“Ariel.” She jumped when she heard her name, turning to see Mitchell standing in the doorway with a file in his hand. “Sorry, you must not have heard me knock.”

She hadn’t
. She had been staring out her window, thinking of Nicholas.

No one but the
cartel referred to her as Ariel. Her family had always used her mother’s pet name for her. When she had left with her mother, she had left Ariel behind and hadn’t looked back.

She didn’t reach out
to take the file. “Don’t you get tired of being controlled by them, Mitchell?”

“It is a life I have chosen
,” he said stiffly.

“Men don’t have long lives in the
cartel.”

“Emiliano will be different
. You will see. He will take the cartel to heights it has never seen before.”

“If he lives that long.”

“Emiliano is not like your father or brother. He cares about those within the cartel. The men feel the difference and would lay down their lives for him.”

“Unlike my brother, whose men
orchestrated his murder?”

“You finally want to learn the truth? I always wondered if you would,” he said sarcastically.
“It took you long enough. I assume you’re missing the money Alejandro sent to you all those years.”

“I didn’t take his money
! I returned it! Whenever the messengers came, I always sent it back. I never even opened the envelope.” Ria’s eyes widened when she realized she should have kept her mouth shut. The person who had delivered the money must have kept it. She had inadvertently revealed a traitor among them. At least now she could be open; there was nothing to hide. Her plan to shock him with the knowledge of her brother’s death obviously didn’t faze him one bit.

“I may have needed the money
, but I didn’t take it. I wanted nothing to do with the cartel.” She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her, even though she felt the urge to run away.

Mitchell looked down his nose at her.
“What the hell do you know about the cartel? You say you want no part of it, yet it is in your blood.”

“No
,” Ria denied. “I’m not like them.”

“Yes, you are. You tried to save and protect your mother. You were loyal to your brothers even though you know they weren’t good men. When your father died
, you were grief-stricken. Family ties are the hardest to break, yet the hardest to live with.”

Mitchell was right
. She had loved her family, despite knowing the cruelty they were capable of.

“
Your father made a mistake, and your two brothers made the same. He used fear to maintain power of the cartel. They would threaten the lives of the members’ families to maintain control”—his hardened face was filled with hatred—“which is why I wanted him dead. He threatened the life of my sister while treating you with kid gloves. Emiliano uses loyalty to keep control. He would give his life for my sister. A man like that, the cartel will protect.”

Ria didn’t ask Mitchell if Alejandro had hurt or m
ight have killed his sister. She knew her brother had been an evil man. Still, he had been her brother, and she knew he had loved her and their mother. She felt the sense of loss, not ever truly knowing her eldest half-brother.

Ria hoped she could find out who
’d killed her brothers. She had to know who they were to know if and when they would come after her next. She understood Alejandro’s murder, but Matthew was young; he didn’t deserve to die before seeing his twentieth birthday. Whomever that person was deserved to pay for his actions.

“Who killed my brothers?” Ria asked.

“Alejandro’s grief over Matthew continued to get worse over the years. It was clouding his judgment, and his decisions were more about punishing people for their mistakes instead of making smart business moves to expand the empire he had lost all respect. His last decision was to kidnap the girlfriend of a loyal employee who wanted to quit the cartel. He was a good employee who had completed all tasks asked of him. Alejandro could have let him go—he had no fear of the man reporting him. Instead, your brother put all his energy into kidnapping the girl as punishment. That is the man that killed your brother.”

“What’s his name?”

Mitchell barked a short laugh in her face. “I will not give you his name. He did the cartel a favor by killing your brother. We’re all glad he’s dead.” He stared hard at her with no remorse.

Ria nodded her head.
She could only imagine how many people he had hurt for so many to want him dead. “Mitchell, I’m no threat to the cartel. I won’t report anything because it would hurt Mom. I’ll do what it takes to earn my freedom.” Ria put as much strength into her voice as she could.

He handed her the folder. “Then you know what you have to do, Ariel.”

*  *  *

Nicholas
called as she was getting out of the shower. She had missed him while he was away, but they had talked on the phone until late in the evenings. Nicholas only hung up to catch a few hours sleep before he had to be at his commercial shoot.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing right now.”

“Meet me downtown at the arena.
Ty’s fighting today.”

“How’s Ty?”

“We’re cool. Emiliano isn’t going to come between our friendship.” Ria was relieved.

“Give me thirty minutes.” She hung up
, feeling a burst of excitement. He had flown in this morning and was asking to see her this afternoon.

She didn’t regret having sex with him. She had wanted to experience her first time spont
aneously and full of passion with a desire to please one another. And that was what she had been given. She knew each day with him was precious with her future so uncertain.

She pulled into the parking lot of the arena.
This was her first time coming to a cage fight willingly. The last time she had come was as on-site medical staff in case of an injury.

She checked her make-up in the mirror, touched up her
lip gloss, and fluffed her hair for good measure. She had dressed in jean shorts and a pretty, blue ribbed shirt. It was muggy today, and she wanted to feel comfortable. The looks Nicholas gave her made her want to look her best. She knew he found her desirable, and she loved the way he made her feel.

She frowned at herself in the mirror
. Actually, Emiliano forcing her to go out with different men had boosted her self-confidence in dealing with the opposite sex.

She picked
up the ticket waiting for her, looking at it to confirm her seat location. Nicholas had told her she would be sitting next to his sister and Zane. She was looking forward to seeing Melanie, and although Zane seemed hard, he had been nice to her and was friendly.

S
he could hear the roars from the crowd as she walked in. There was a fight already going on, and when Ria looked at the cage and saw a fighter throw a punch then watched the blood gush out of his opponent’s nose. She covered her face and quickly turned away.

What the hell
am I doing here?

She kept her face turned away from the cage as she looked for her seat.
She scooted past some men yelling, “Kick his ass,” and other obscenities. She was getting used to normal people turning bloodthirsty when they were goading their fighters on.

She finally found her seat
, and saw Melanie and Zane watching her maneuver through the crowd. She also saw the quick glance of worry they gave one another before they both pasted smiles on their faces.

“Hi
, Ria!” Melanie exclaimed. She jumped up to give Ria a hug. Ria felt awkward, but hugged her back. She wasn’t used to being greeted so warmly by anyone. Lacey was her best friend, but she would never hug her.

Melanie
was attractive in a green top and shorts. Melanie seemed nice, but she also looked like a woman that would beat the hell out of a male or female to get her way. Zane was probably one of the few men that could handle a strong woman like her.

Ria nodded her head
. “Hi, Melanie, Zane.”

“Ria,” Zane greeted her
with a head nod.

Ria was afraid to look at the cage, but felt obligated to watch.
As she looked into it, she saw the fighter that had blood gushing out earlier was on top, punching the crap out of the other fighter lying on his back. She saw spurts of blood with each punch and noticed the splatter on the floor.

“Hey, is this your first fight?”
Melanie seemed to notice Ria’s discomfort.

“That I’m actually trying to watch, yes
.” Ria didn’t want to explain that she had been forced to watch pit fighting for the last two months.

“I grew up around the sport, so this is nothing to me.
But my best friend Trish, she can’t handle it. I’ve dragged her to a couple, but she finally admitted she hates them,” Melanie laughed.

Ria laughed with her.
“Well, I want to try to enjoy the fight. I know MMA is important to Nicholas.”

Ria watched Melanie’s head nod in approval.
“I’m glad to hear that.”

Ria and Melanie shared a smile of understanding.

When Melanie reached for her drink, a flash caught Ria’s eye.

“Are you two engaged?” Ria asked as she looked at the rock on Melanie’s finger.

Ria watched Melanie and Zane look at each other
, the love between them clearly evident. It’s what every woman, including herself, dreamt of having one day.

“Yes.
Zane popped the question this morning!” Melanie stretched her hand out for Ria to see.

“Congratulations to you both!” Ria said
as she looked at the beautiful, princess cut ring which suited Melanie perfectly. “It’s a beautiful ring.”

“Thank you so much,” Melanie replied as she squeezed Zane’s hand and gave him a quick kiss.

Ria’s heart warmed at the obvious adoration they had for one another.

Before they could speak again, she heard a voice come over the speakers
, announcing the winner of the fight. The man that she had seen get punched first had ended up winning. She was surprised since she would have thought a punch that forced so much blood to pour out would have put the fighter at a disadvantage. It was pretty incredible that he’d ended up winning.

“Ty’s fight is next,” Melanie told her.

“Okay,” Ria replied nervously.

She looked toward the ramp and saw Nicholas and Ty standing at the top.
The sight of him took her breath away. He was so much taller than the rest of the men around him. His t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, narrowing down toward his waist, and his biceps were clearly defined under the sleeves. He was incredibly handsome. All she wanted at that moment were those arms wrapped around her as he kissed her senseless.

She watched him speak to Ty as they walked.
She took a moment to observe Ty. He seemed steady, as if this wasn’t his first fight. It definitely wasn’t, just his first one in a cage. She knew from Nicholas that he tended to get in many fights outside the gym. She didn’t think that the night she had seen him fighting in the pit was virgin territory for him either.

As Ty approached the opening in the cage, it looked like Nicholas was giving him a few more words as a coach.
Ria watched him and felt the excitement when she saw him looking for her. When their eyes met, he nodded at her, and she smiled back. He turned back as the crowd watched Ty’s opponent walk down the ramp.

“That’s a first,” she heard Melanie declare under her breath.

“What is?” Ria asked with curiosity.

Melanie jumped
. She must not have realized she’d said it loud enough for Ria to hear. “Oh, I was just thinking I’ve never seen Nick acknowledge anyone in the stands before. I think he really likes you.” Melanie grinned. “He’s never introduced me to a girlfriend before.”

As
Ria felt herself blushing, she had no response. Melanie patted her leg with a laugh.

“In the black corner, participating in his third fight, weighing in at
one hundred sixty-one pounds, Ty Cooper!”

Ria listened to the mix of boos and cheers for Ty.
With him being new to the cage, she assumed he would have to win a few fights to win over this whacked-out-of-their-minds crowd. She still couldn’t believe she was here. She liked Ty and didn’t want to see him get beaten up again.

The announcer called out the name of the other fighter, but all Ria heard was his weight of
one hundred sixty-five pounds. She wondered how the weight difference affected the fight. Was one faster because he was lighter, or was it better to be heavier and able to hold off a take down? She would have to ask Nicholas later.

She watched as the announcer stepped out of the way and the ref spoke a few words b
efore she heard the bell ring. Then Ty and his opponent started circling.

Ria sat at the edge of her seat
without a clue as to how this fight would go down.